


Fake Smiles

by Obliterwrite



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Drama, F/M, Romance, Two Shot, Valentines
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:07:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22989085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Obliterwrite/pseuds/Obliterwrite
Summary: It's Valentines day and love is in the air! For some... But for two certain couples things weren't going so well. Some smile, trying to pretend nothing is wrong, others see those faces and become oblivious to the sorrow hidden behind those fake smiles. Finally, on the day meant for celebrating love and affection, those feelings broke free, putting two entire relationships at risk.
Relationships: Inkling(s)/Octoling(s) (Splatoon), Inklings(s)/Inkling(s) (Splatoon)
Kudos: 4





	1. Fake Smiles

**Author's Note:**

> This was a two shot written for a valentines day contest, which I originally posted to FFnet.

**Chapter 1: Fake smiles**

* * *

**Inkopolis**

Valentines day…

An international festival of romance, affection, friendship…

Obviously such a day must be spent with those closest to-

"Sorry Kal, but I'm busy today."

A red Inkling by the name of Kalus stood frozen at these words.

The day had only begun and already it was going downhill.

"B-but why…"

"I know it's Valentine's Day, but that doesn't mean I can just take the day off, it's busy here in Octo Valley, so I can't see you today. Sorry."

The voice on the other end of the phone belonged to an Octoling named Victoria.

She was one of many Octarians who didn't want to move to Inkopolis and instead wanted to rebuild Octo Valley.

She also happened to be Kal's girlfriend.

"I… I understand... " Kal replied

"Thank you, I know it's tough on you, it's tough on me too, I'd love to leave everything and go to Inkopolis, but I just can't. Thank you for understanding."

Victoria hung up, leaving Kal frozen in his home, listening to nothing but silence.

That was probably the only time he'd hear Victoria's voice today.

He could travel to Octo Valley, it would only take a few hours, but if she was busy he'd probably be unable to see her regardless.

After all, Victoria was part of what was known as the 'New Octopolis army' a group of former Octarian army soldiers, who now stood free of Octavio's control.

Ever since Octavio had been defeated, Octarians who wanted to remain free either moved to Inkopolis, or occupied Octo Valley.

Victoria just happened to be the type who didn't want to leave her hometown behind, so she stayed underground.

Kal really wanted to spend the day with her.

He hadn't seen her in person for months now.

He really wanted to see her again, to take her hand, to hold her close, so close that they could feel each other's heartbeat.

Oh well, it's not like that was going to happen.

Kal composed himself, got dressed for the day and left for Inkopolis Square.

He could have gone towards Inkopolis Plaza and went to Octo Valley from there, but there wasn't a point.

Victoria wasn't the kind to do irrational things.

If she said she was busy, she definitely was…

Besides… It's not like they have to spend the day together, right?

All he could do was put on a smile, maybe send some chocolates or flowers her way and spend the day as best as he could.

* * *

**Inkopolis Square**

As lively as ever, Inkopolis Square was filled with all kinds of sea creatures.

On this day it seemed as if everyone present was a couple, at least to Kal.

Even the hive minded jellyfish who do not feel affection for one another, seemed to be trying to replicate the appearance of couples today.

Everywhere he looked, everyone he saw made him wish that Victoria had been here with him.

Kal wanted to grab his head and shout.

' _This is so frustrating!'_

He was hoping that maybe by battling in the Deca Tower he could get his mind off Victoria, but that was impossible, because to him, it felt like everyone else in Inkopolis had someone for today.

' _Oh well, complaining isn't going to help…'_

Kal could only sigh and only accept recent events as the difficulties of a long distance relationship and move on with his day.

Then he saw some familiar faces.

A bright green Inkling girl who was skipping all over the place, pulling along a more calm and composed glasses wearing cyan Inkling boy.

They were called Neon and Sky, two good friends of his, who happened to be a couple as well.

With nothing else to do, Kal decided to head over and say hi, but as he got within earshot…

"Would you stop hopping all over the place squealing like some twelve year old?" Sky complained

"How can I? It's the most romantic day of the year! Look at everyone around us! That Inkling over there holding a bouquet of flower and blushing, or that other Inkling calling that Octoling an interesting squid as if he was totally oblivious!? Isn't that adorable?!"

"Don't say that stuff out loud! You're going to give us a bad rep! Calm down first!"

"How can I? The weather is great, the holiday is great and I'm here with you!" Neon threw herself around Sky.

Sky however didn't seem pleased.

"Don't think everything can be solved with a hug! Do you not have any bit of self control?!"

"I left all that behind when I moved here! After all this is Inkopolis! A wonderful place where you can let loose, shout out loud and not worry about a thing!"

"You troublesome girl… Just how do you manage to reach such a twisted conclusion?!"

"Experience!"

"Don't just answer instantly!"

Sky appeared annoyed while trying his best not to make that much noise, Neon seemed not to care at all and continued to speak as loud as possible with a wide smile on her face.

Those two looked like polar opposites, yet apparently they were in a relationship…

' _Is this what they mean by opposites attract?'_ Kal wondered as he approached the two.

_'...Wait a second… If I showed up now, wouldn't I just be a third wheel?'_

Upon realizing that Kal decided now wasn't the best time to greet the two.

He could see them hanging out in Inkopolis Square often so there was no need to run into them now.

As he turned to leave though, something caught his attention.

"Mr Belhaim!"

Belhaim was Sky's last name.

Who was suddenly calling his friend in such a formal manner.

Kal turned back to watch Neon and Sky who were now faced with a friendly group of Octarians.

"There's no need for that, just call me Sky."

_'Oh I think I get it…'_

Kal recalled how recently some Octarians were moving to Inkopolis.

However, since the two species spent over a hundred years apart with no contact, nearly none of the Octarians could speak Inkling.

Only the Octolings could speak a universal language, but that didn't help them get around Inkopolis. Then you had the other races like Octostrikers, Octoballs and so on, those could not communicate with Inklings at all and only spoke Octarian.

Sky, despite being only 16 at the moment, had a job as a translator and language teacher.

Because he was a somewhat brainy type who had learned the Octarian language out of curiosity.

Now that some Octarians have heard the Calamari Inkantation and wish to move to Inkopolis, there was suddenly a huge demand for anyone who could speak both languages to help teach and guide these Octarians as they settle in to Inkopolis.

Thanks to that, Sky was making more cash than he ever could playing Turf despite his young age and in the meantime he was getting pretty popular among the Octarians.

These Octarians speaking to him now were probably some he had taught, considering they called him 'Mr Belhaim'.

From what Kal could hear, they spoke Inkling quite fluently too.

Sky, taking this opportunity to practice speaking Octarian, began a conversation in that language and the Octarians followed suit.

And Neon was left alone, just watching Sky and wondering what they were saying.

She watched their mouths move, uttering words she could not understand.

She watched Sky smile and laugh, but she could not know why.

All she did was stand silently, giving a slight smile of her own.

Kal began to feel sorry for Neon.

' _Maybe it's fine if I show up after all…'_

"Hey Neon, how's it going?" Kal asked

"Oh, things are great! I have so much planned for today and I can't wait to get going!" Neon, perky as ever didn't seem to mind her alienation.

However then Sky stopped speaking Octarian, and said something which hit Neon like a truck.

"These Octarians just invited us to lunch so I'm going with them… Oh hey Kal! When did you get here? Nevermind, Neon, want to come?"

Neon looked shocked.

She looked at the group of Octarians, specifically at the two Octoling girls who appeared only one or two years older than her.

They were speaking in Octarian with an Octoball and an Octostriker.

Then Neon smiled again. "Oh no thanks, I'll just be getting in the way. You have fun!"

"Oh? Well okay then. Hey Kal do me a favor and take Neon off my hands, make sure she doesn't do anything stupid while I'm gone." Sky said.

"Hey! Why does it sound like I'm some problem child?!" Neon complained

"Well you are a troublesome girl." Sky then took another glance at the Octarians waiting for him. "I'll be back later, love you, bye!"

Like that Sky left.

Neon hopped up and down waving goodbye to him, as energetic as ever.

Finally, as Sky disappeared from view, Neon came to a stop.

She found herself holding her own hand, bringing it close to her chest, then…

' _Huh?'_ Kal thought, as he noticed a sparkle on Neon's cheek. _'Is she crying?'_

Neon made no noise, but there were some tears streaming down her face.

"Uhh Neon, are you alright?" Kal asked.

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

"What are ya talking about? I'm gorgeous!"

"Not that! Neon are you really okay with letting Sky off like that?"

"Yeah it's fine…"

"Then why are you crying?"

Neon's eyes widened as if Kal had pointed out something she hadn't noticed. Neon wiped the tears from her face then stared at the remaining bit of moisture on her hand.

It was almost as if she didn't realize she was crying.

"Oh, uhh, something was probably just in my eyes... I mean, just because it's valentines doesn't mean Sky and I have to spend the day together, right?"

This sounds oddly familiar…

If Kal were to guess, Neon was probably looking forward to spending the day with Sky.

But then something comes up and Sky decides to leave, while Neon did nothing to stop him.

It was just like what happened to him and Victoria this morning…

For now, Kal felt as if he could relate to Neon in a way.

But unlike the situation with him and Victoria, Sky did not go anywhere far, he was just having lunch with a few Octarians in Inkopolis.

"You wanted to go with Sky didn't you? Why didn't you say anything?" Kal asked

Neon's shoulders slumped as she let out a large sigh.

"Yeah I had a reservation for two at the Harbour Ten steakhouse… But what's the point? I'd just be getting in the way."

"Isn't that the whole point?"

"It wouldn't matter, I can't understand half the things they say."

It did look like Neon was completely ignored as soon as Sky and those Octarians began speaking a foreign language.

Kal did feel bad for Neon, did Sky not realize Neon was feeling left out?

Actually Neon was still trying to smile when he was present, maybe Sky really didn't know…

' _Wait a second, wasn't I doing the same thing earlier?'_ Kal wondered

"Well, it's fine, I'm used to it by now." Neon added

"This happens often?"

Kal couldn't believe it.

It was just like how Victoria could never find the time to come see him because she was always busy in Octo Valley.

"Well what can I say, the two of us are very different." Neon forced a smile, trying to reassure Kal that nothing was wrong.

But something definitely was.

Looking at Neon's forced smile, Kal suddenly realized Neon's situation was really relatable at the moment.

After all, he had to put on an equally forced smile this morning and every other time Victoria said she couldn't leave Octo Valley.

"But enough about us. What about you?" Neon continued

"What about me?" Kal asked

"You know." Neon nudged Kal "Where's Victoria? If you're here she must be close too right?"

"Oh, she's uhh…"

' _She's busy, too much stuff going on in Octo Valley.'_ Kal would have said, but he didn't feel that way. Not anymore.

Kal couldn't see it before, but he was not too happy with recent events.

Specifically between him and Victoria.

He didn't notice it before, but he too felt ignored. True he didn't know what Victoria had to do in Octo Valley's New Octopolis army, but he wished that Victoria would at least pay more attention to him.

Their feelings were supposed to be mutual, so why is it that Kal was always the one cheering Victoria on while she kept doing whatever she did in Octo Valley?

It wasn't until seeing a similar event from a third person's perspective, that Kal could realize he was losing hope in his supposed relationship with Victoria.

Instead of explaining that Victoria was too busy, Kal abandoned his original phrase and said:

"... We're hopeless together."

That smile he wore on his face was now gone as Kal looked to the floor in sorrow.

"Whaaa?! Hey don't just stop it there! What happened between you two!?" Neon exclaimed

From Neon's point of view, Kal and Victoria were inseparable.

The two of them had been through alot for each other and Neon was present to see it all unfold.

Kal and Victoria's relationship went from initially disliking and not trusting each other, to the point where the two would go to almost any length to make sure the other was safe and happy.

In other words, it was a slow but sturdily built relationship that was not supposed to sink so easily.

Therefore Neon couldn't believe what Kal just said.

She grabbed his shoulders and tried to shake more information out of him.

"Come on! Don't just stop there! Keep talking!"

"Alright! I get it! Let go of me already!" Kal exclaimed, trying to push Neon away from him.

' _Well, since Neon seems to be in the same boat, maybe it's fine to complain to her?'_ Kal decided

He had a lot he wanted to complain about, he just didn't say anything to Victoria because he didn't want to bother her.

Well if it's Neon, someone who he was just friends with, maybe it would be okay.

"It's just that… Well she always says she's busy and doesn't have time for me, she probably is but… Everytime I try to invite her out she turns it down, saying she's too preoccupied. I don't know, I just kinda feel like I don't matter at all anymore."

Neon nodded rapidly in understanding.

"Yeah yeah, I get what you mean. I get the same feeling a lot with Sky, I mean everywhere we go, he's telling me don't do this, or don't do that. Then when some Octarians show up he just completely forgets about me!"

"I wish Victoria would find more time for me."

"I wish Sky would say something positive about me again."

"I mean I do like Victoria, but..."

"I like Sky, I really do, but..."

"...I feel like it doesn't even matter anymore." Both Kalus and Neon said at the exact same time.

They found themselves staring at each other.

"Hold on, instead of saying all this to me, shouldn't you be telling Sky?" Kal began.

"I could say the same to you! If you want to see Victoria so bad, why don't you just tell her that?"

The two found themselves easily relating to the other.

"It's not that easy! Besides, Victoria takes her job as an Octarian soldier really seriously, so if she says she's busy then it must be important."

"I can't just pull Sky away from those Octarians. And while I don't like him complaining all the time, I know I'm a little hyper… sooo, yeah."

"..."

"..."

"Soo… I guess Sky isn't coming back soon?"

"No… And you won't be seeing Victoria anytime soon?"

"No... So much for Valentines day, this is more like Ditch Your Date day."

Neon nodded silently in agreement.

"Say, if you're free, wanna come get lunch with me?" Neon asked

Kal replied with a look of blatant confusion.

"Ahh don't misunderstand, I said I had a table reserved at the Harbour Ten Inkopolis. I was planning on taking Sky but well… you saw how that went."

"Really? Why didn't you mention it to Sky earlier?"

"It was meant to be a surprise! But then he got invited by those Octarians. How awkward would it be if I brought it up only then?!"

"Fair point. But then why me?"

"Well… I don't want to let the reservation go to waste.. Besides, could you maybe just play along a little? Maybe Sky will come to his senses when he hears I took you out to a five star restaurant for valentines! Hehe!"

"Well I guess that's fine, I could play along, that's what friends are for…. Wait a second? Did you say five star?"

"Yeah! Oh don't worry, I've got it all covered.."

"... Won't it be an expensive meal then? Are you sure you don't want to just try calling Sky back?"

"Don't worry, money is no problem for me, ahhh but we can't go like this, I'll be right back!"

"Wait!"

As if completely ignoring him, Neon bolted off to her apartment.

Kal stood there alone.

_'What was that!? Why did Neon suddenly bounce from crying to dragging me to lunch in place of Sky? And what's that about playing along and bringing Sky back to his senses?! No wonder Sky calls her a troublesome girl!'_

It was incredibly strange, though that was to be expected from Neon.

' _Well it's not like I'm looking to replace Victoria with Neon… if by some chance a big misunderstanding happens I could always just explain myself… yeah this should be fine.'_ Kal assured himself.

It's not like Victoria was showing up soon anyways.

Though he had never been to a five star restaurant.

Was he supposed to dress formally or something?

Kal figured that if he didn't know, Neon would have even less of an idea.

After all, Neon was someone who spent almost all her time playing ranked ink battles and showed little interest in anything else.

* * *

Returning home, Kal searched online for any kind of dress code before going through his turf war gear for anything that might be suitable for such an occasion.

In the end he decided that a simple white shirt and no headgear would do just fine.

Deciding this was good enough, Kal headed over to meet Neon at her apartment.

He expected Neon to be wearing something that could be used in Turf Wars since she liked it so much and probably didn't have any clothing that wasn't turf gear, but he was wrong.

When Neon arrived it was almost as if she became a completely different Inkling.

Unlike her usual self, who would have just ran around at full speed without regard for her appearance, Neon moved calmly and elegantly.

She wore a pure white sundress which left her shoulders bare, something that was definitely not turf war clothing.

She wasn't moving her hair tentacles around like extra arms anymore, they just flowed all the way down, sometimes being lifted by the breeze.

Frankly Neon looked like a proper beauty, the complete opposite of her normal appearance of a wild child.

She left her apartment and walked towards Kal at a steady pace and observed his choice of clothing.

"A casual white shirt? A fine choice for when there isn't a specific dress code." Neon commented.

Neon was even controlling her voice and not just shouting out everything on her mind as soon as it came to her.

"Who are you?" Kal couldn't help it.

"What is that supposed to mean!?"

"S-sorry, well with that reaction you are definitely Neon."

"Who else would I be?"

"No one, I just never saw you dress like that before."

"Oh yeah, I normally don't, I really don't like how hard it is to run in these kinds of dresses. Does it look weird on me or something?"

"No, rather I just never expected you to own any kind of clothing that was not suited for turf wars."

"Just cause I love turf wars so much doesn't mean I can't dress like this."

"Yeah I get that, but wow, what a surprise."

"Surprise? I normally dress like this whenever I take Sky to some fancy place. Isn't that normal?"

"Wait… You normally dress like that for your dates?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"... Nothing."

Kal had a defeated look on his face.

' _Victoria never dresses like that… in fact most of the time she doesn't even change out of her Octoling armor.'_

"If this surprises you, just wait till you see what Sky wears to formal events." Neon added "Ahh, he looks so suave and debonair in a three piece suit.."

As Neon started to daydream about Sky, Kal felt a strange bit of jealousy.

' _Three piece suit? Have they gone to some formal event together?'_

He and Victoria never dressed fancily or anything, nor did they go to expensive places, they would either go around Inkopolis or Octo Valley.

He looked at Neon, who held her cheeks and had a slight blush as she remembered some previous date with Sky.

' _I know it's not a competition…. But why does Neon and Sky seem way more couple like than me and Victoria?'_

"Hmm? Why are you glaring at me?" Neon asked

"I am? Well… nevermind that, we should get going right?"

There was no way Kal was going to tell her that he was jealous of the things she and Sky did together.

* * *

Sky walked through the Square, having had a warm welcome and an enjoyable meal with the Octarians.

For him, it was a shame Neon didn't come along, but she had chosen not to, so Sky wasn't going to force her or anything.

 _'She probably wanted to join a few battles while she could.'_ Sky assumed.

He didn't know anyone else who played turf wars as much as Neon did.

She was good at it too, to the point where she had remained in the top 500s of ranked battles for several months in a row.

Sponsors from all over made offers to her.

It was no surprise that she would rather play turf than have lunch with some random Octarians.

Sky went over to the Deca tower and waited patiently in the lobby, expecting Neon to appear soon.

But he didn't see her anywhere.

_'Strange, she should have shown up by now…'_

He considered calling her on the phone, but knowing Neon, she was probably too distracted to pick up.

' _Where else could she be? Maybe she had a bad loss and is off sulking somewhere?'_

If that was the case, Sky knew where to look.

Neon had a go to place whenever she wanted to be alone.

An unnamed grassy hill overlooking the ocean near Inkopolis Plaza.

Sky decided to go check there.

* * *

While Sky was right about Neon's location, he was wrong about her being there alone.

Both she and Kal had gone to that spot after their lunch.

She had something on her mind, a plan.

"What do you mean by 'put Sky to the test'?" Kal asked

"I mean I want to see how he reacts if he finds out that I'm spending valentines with you instead of him! Then maybe he'll realize how I feel."

"W-what? Hey don't just rope me in on such a prank."

"It's not a prank, it's a test!"

"I have a bad feeling about this…." Kal muttered "If you are really so bothered by Sky not spending the day with you, why don't you just tell him?"

"Gee I don't know? Why don't you tell Victoria that you're bothered by how little time she has for you?" Neon replied

"... Fair point."

"Alright! Now lie on my lap!" Neon said, sitting on her knees and patting her lap.

"Wait! I didn't agree yet! And why would you say such a thing so casually?" Kal exclaimed

"Obviously it's because you and I are good friends! Yeah! I could never be this up front with Sky! But it's fine with you cause you and I are just friends!"

Kal grit his teeth.

"Yeah that's right, I have zero interest in you but we are still friends. So as friends we should help each other out." He replied with a smile.

Neon frowned

"I don't you why, but hearing so much emphasis on 'friends' ticks me off somehow."

"Hey, you started it…"

Kal looked at Neon sitting in the grass, he could somewhat understand her motive and reasoning, but what if this led to a big misunderstanding?

Well Victoria was busy all the time, and she and Sky weren't exactly in touch with each other, so there shouldn't be any trouble there…

"Alright, but what is your plan here anyways?" Kal asked

"Well… I didn't really think about that… Wait, don't get up yet! Let Sky see us like this first!"

Kal lay in Neon's lap and the two continued to plan on some way to get Sky to realize how much Neon was sulking.

"So this is like a test of Sky's resolve? Or are you just fed up with wearing fake smiles?" Kal wondered

"Hmm, I'm not sure. Hey you're getting pretty into this aren't you?"

"I'm already here, might as well play along…"

"... Oh! I know!" Neon exclaimed

"What? What is it?"

"Why don't you just tell him everyone I told you? About how he's always acting like I need to change and how easily he seems to let me go?"

"I'm not some couple counselor…"

"Come on… pleeeease!?"

"No way, do you want me to just watch the two of you fight?"

"Oh that could work!"

"It was a joke…"

"No it might actually work! Sky sucks so bad at ink battles there is no way he could beat us!"

"...wait us?"

"And if he is still determined enough to try then that should mean something! Yeah let's do that!" Neon said with a determined look on her face.

"What are you saying?" Kal didn't quite get how Neon jumped to such a conclusion.

"Hey stop shooting down all my ideas! Just play along and I'll help you smooth things out with Victoria someday!"

"There's nothing to smoothen out! We just live a bit too far apart, that's all!"

"Yeah yeah sure, just make yourself comfortable until Sky finds us."

"Why don't you just call him and tell him where we are?"

"Nah, that would be too suspicious."

Expecting Sky to come looking for her soon, Neon waited with Kal lying in her lap.

"Can I at least sit up now?" He asked

"Nah! Sky needs to see this."

"This isn't all that comfortable you know…" Kal said, adjusting his head on Neon's lap.

"Really?... Well I wouldn't know."

The two distracted themselves with other topics, things like turf wars, music, Off the Hook.

Until finally Kal heard a voice.

"What's going on here!?"

Sky finally made it.

He was expecting Neon to be gazing off into the distance alone or something.

But instead he found Kal lying in Neon's lap.

It didn't really sit well with him, but he was not too kind to get angry easily.

There had to be a rational explanation for this.

And there was, however he wasn't going to get it yet.

"Oh you're back! Hope you had fun! I sure did." Neon said.

"Huh?" Sky went.

' _Now let's not jump to conclusions, there's no way Kal did something behind my back.'_

Neon gently nudged Kal with her leg, as Sky wouldn't notice it.

She was telling Kal to play along.

Kal suppressed a sigh and did just that.

"You did tell me to take her off your hands." Kal said, faking a smile while still lying in Neon's lap.

Neon did the same, or maybe she was just happy to see Sky slowly lose his cool for possibly the first time ever.

To Sky, these two seemed to have suddenly gotten very close.

"What sort of joke is this?" Sky asked

"What do you mean?" Neon tilted her head, faking a sense of confusion.

"Alright Kal! What did you do?"

"What? Me?" Kal didn't expect Sky to push all the blame on him.

"Yeah you! Are you blackmailing Neon or something? Or did you just have a fight with Victoria?"

"Hey! Why do you immediately assume I'm the culprit?!"

"How could I not?! There's no way Neon would just up and leave so suddenly!"

"Oh don't be so certain." Kal said, trying his best to keep a relaxed tone.

"I AM certain! Neon was always so happy! You did something to her didn't you!?" Sky suddenly grabbed Kal by the collar and pulled him off Neon.

Kal wasn't sure if he could keep this up.

It's not that he wanted to just tell Sky what was really going on, but rather it was because Kal was genuinely getting angry.

It made sense that Sky would immediately assume Neon was innocent, however…

From what Sky had just said, it seemed like he was totally oblivious to how unhappy Neon really was.

_'Why does this infuriate me so much?!'_

"Happy? HA! If that was the case we wouldn't be having this conversation now!"

"Neon what happened?" Sky asked Neon, but it was Kal who replied

"She wanted to surprise you with lunch at a fancy steakhouse, but you left before she could take you there, so I went in your stead."

"You what?!"

"I comforted her, made her feel better, but you wouldn't know, considering you ditched her for a bunch of random Octari-"

Kal was instantly cut off.

Because Sky, as quick as lightning, swung a fist at Kal, connecting it with his face.

Neon gasped.

Sky had never acted in such a way before.

In fact, this was the first time anyone had seen Sky resort to violence.

Kal rubbed his face with one hand, while the other slowly curled into a fist.

It looked like a fight was about to start.

As much as she enjoyed fighting, Neon leapt in between Kal and Sky before they could exchange blows.

"Stop it!" Neon shouted

"What are you doing?" Sky said, surprised

"Protecting Kal! What else!?"

"You… He wasn't lying?!"

"Of course not!" Kal retorted from behind Neon. "You just straight up ditched her in the middle of Inkopolis to go eat with a bunch of Octarians!"

"I didn't ditch her! She let me go!"

"Just because she let you go doesn't mean she's happy with it!"

"Huh?!"

Sky had no idea what Kal was talking about.

"She was crying! The moment you left she started crying! Are you aware of that!?"

"R-really?" Sky looked at Neon for confirmation

Neon silently nodded

"B-but why?" Sky stammered.

"Do you really have to ask that!?" Kal shouted

"Oh come on! How was I supposed to know!? She didn't say anything! Neon! Why didn't you say anything?!" Sky asked

"I just… didn't want to get in the way…" Neon replied

"I wouldn't have left if you had just said something."

"If you treated her better she would have." Kal added

At this point he wasn't just playing along with Neon's silly test.

Something about the whole situation irked him.

"You two are supposed to be a couple? Everytime I see you you're telling Neon, 'don't do this' or 'don't do that'."

"It doesn't bother her!"

"It does!"

"How would you know!?"

"Neon told me herself!"

"What!?"

Once again Sky looked to Neon for confirmation and once again she nodded.

"I… I'm sorry, I didn't know." Sky had calmed down rapidly, he switched to a much more apologetic tone. "Can you maybe forgive me?"

Neon didn't move.

"A bit too late for that don't you think?" Kal said.

"You stay out of this!"

"No way, from what i've seen I don't think you and Neon belong together anymore."

"That's not up to you!"

"Your right, how about this then. Go find a partner and meet us at the Deca Tower, we'll fight two on two. Or you could just run home and change your freshbook status to single."

Neon looked to Kal with a face of surprise.

She didn't expect him to actually go through with her plan.

Sky grit his teeth.

He knew he wasn't nearly as good as Kal or Neon in turf wars.

"You… You're just picking something you think I'd lose, aren't you!?"

Kal let out a wry laugh. "Exactly, if you stay the way you are, you'll lose. Go find a teammate, Neon and I will give you all the time you need. If you win, well then, I guess I'll back off."

Sky clenched his fists again, then took a deep breath.

If he was going to beat Neon and Kal, he needed someone who was just as good at Turf Wars.

Sky knew just the candidate for that role.

He jabbed a finger at Kal.

"I accept that challenge! I'll be back by five! Count on it! And I won't lose!" Sky shouted before hurrying off to find a teammate.

Kal and Neon watched Sky disappear into the city.

Neon was already feeling regretful.

She didn't want to think of herself as easy, but seeing how clueless yet apologetic Sky was made, her want to just drop this whole test thing and accept him back into her arms.

"Ahh… I went a bit far there, didn't I?" Kal asked.

"No you did good…. Though Sky really did look sorry didn't he." Neon observed

"He did… Should we just call it all off?"

Neon thought about it one more time.

' _No, if I wanted to do that, I would have said so earlier.'_ Neon thought

It wasn't as simple as just making Sky realize she was unhappy.

There was more, but she wasn't able to say it.

Neon thought back to when she first worked up the courage to confess her feelings to Sky.

Unlike a normal Inkling, she loved fighting, so she was only able to confess to Sky in the middle of a battle.

' _Haha! I'm a weird one, I guess I need another fight to give me courage!'_

This upcoming battle with Sky and whoever he could bring was the chance of a lifetime for Neon.

"Nah, let's wait for him to come back…"

Kal shrugged "it's your call."

"How's your face?" Neon asked

"It's fine, it actually doesn't hurt that much, it was just surprising."

"Yeah I never expected Sky to get so worked up so quickly. Sorry about that." Neon apologized in Sky's stead.

"Don't worry about it, let's just get ready for the match."

Sky said he would be back by five.

That meant there was a little more than four hours to wait out.

"Four hours… Who could he be looking for?" Kal wondered.

"Oh oh oh! I know! He's looking for Inker!"

Inker was another one of their friends.

The reason he wasn't around at the moment, was because he was also Agent 3 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon.

"Yeah that makes sense, Inker is probably helping Cap'n Cuttlefish with something in Octo Valley, that explains why Sky will take four hours to prepare…"

It was the most rational choice, considering that Sky was going to have to fight two Inklings whom he knew were better than him at turf wars.

Bringing Agent 3 could even the odds a bit, though the last time he beat Neon was over a year ago…

"I don't think we have to worry, no matter who he brings along Sky's gonna hold them back. We got this!" Neon cheered

"You seem excited."

"Of course! How can I not? This is gonna be a great battle!"

Even if there were things she wanted to get off her mind, even if this was supposed to be Valentines day, Neon wasn't going to stop enjoying a good ink battle.

"Agent 3 versus us. I think we got this." Kal added.

The duo were feeling confident.

* * *

**New Octopolis, Octo Valley**

Thanks to the Calamari Inkantation, the Octarians had a civil war and all those still loyal to Octavio and hostile to Inklings, were chased out to Octo Canyon.

Those that no longer wanted to fight, yet didn't want to leave their homes, rebuilt Octo Valley's kettles into one prosperous city named 'New Octopolis'

That was Sky's destination.

Like Neon and Kal had predicted, Sky went to Octo Valley to search for Inker, a.k.a Agent 3.

' _If I try hard enough, maybe I can deal with Kal, I just need someone who can hold off Neon. Otherwise I don't stand a chance against those two.'_

If he couldn't get Inker's help, would he still fight?

' _I have to try, no matter what!'_

He never expected his friend Kalus to be such a snake, swooping in and taking Neon from him like that.

From his point of view, he didn't do much wrong, aside from maybe misjudging Neon a bit.

Neon simply had a moment of vunerability and Kal must have taken advantage for some reason.

He was the one who challenged him in the first place.

' _All of this is Kal's fault.' Sky_ concluded.

Not wanting to waste time, he checked his phone to see if Inker had replied to his texts.

Nothing yet, maybe he was out of cell range?

There were dozens of possiblities.

But Sky didn't have time to waste.

Assuming the New Octopolis army would know where Agent 3 and Cuttlefish have been. Sky made his way over to a military installation.

Since he could speak Octarian, he had many acquaintances here, he could easily ask around for information.

Whoever looked free enough to speak, Sky asked them about the whereabouts of Agent 3.

"I didn't hear anything about him." an Octostriker said.

"He's still in the valley?" An Octotrooper wondered

"You should probably ask an officer." an Octoling suggested.

So Sky did.

He searched for a certain pony tailed Octoling he was familiar with in the past.

"Agent 3? Well he left in pursuit of an Octoling working for Octavio's army. Last thing I heard he chased her into the Deepsea Metro."

"Can you tell him to come back?"

"Sorry, we can't contact them in the Deepsea Metro."

"Can you send someone to find them?" Sky asked

"No way! No matter what I say no one in their right mind would go to that cursed place!"

"Cursed?"

"In the past, over ten thousand Octarians disappeared in the Deepsea Metro, none ever returned. What's worse, there were confirmed reports of zombie like Octarians, their skin a deathly green and tentacles cold and blue, emerging from the deep."

"Ohh… Wait hold up! Doesn't that mean Inker is in big trouble?!"

"Yes, but what can we do? Nobody would go to that place even if I ordered them."

"Okay… Well thanks for your time Lynn."

"No worries, I'll let you know as soon as Agent 3 returns… if he returns that is…"

"Huh? What was that last bit?"

"N-nothing! I'll see you around!"

Sky was left without a teammate.

He sighed, there was no way he could beat Neon and Kalus alone.

Looking at the time, he had taken nearly two hours getting here.

If he was to be back in time, he had to leave now.

' _Guess I have no choice.'_

Sky prepared himself to lose badly.

Out of all his friends, he was the lowest level and the least skilled.

He had no chance.

"Hmm? Sky? What are you doing here?"

A familiar voice called out.

It belonged to another Octoling.

One who's red hair and green eyes prevented her from standing out much.

Yet Sky knew her name.

"Oh, Victoria. I was just leaving."

"You look troubled. What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing… Well… It's Valentine's day right? But I think I just blew my relationship with Neon."

"What happened?"

"Nothing… Well I kinda messed up and Kal took advantage of that-"

"WHAT?!" Victoria exclaimed, but she quickly composed herself and said "Tell me more."

She looked serious yet cold, it sent chills down Sky's back.

Maybe it wasn't good to blame it all on Kal in front of Victoria.

He tried to explain to the best of his ability.

How he left Neon with Kal because he didn't know anything was wrong.

How Neon was apparently crying behind his back.

How he found Kal lying on Neon's lap, with bright smiles on both their faces when he returned.

Finally, Kal's challenge to him.

"Neon seems to have taken a liking to Kal while I was… I was being stupid…" Sky concluded.

"I can't believe this.." Victoria mumbled

"I know right."

"Just cause I'm too busy down here, Neon parades herself in front of Kal and stabs me in the back!?" Victoria complained

"Hey! It's not Neon's fault!"

"Are you saying it's Kal's?"

"N-no I uhh… It's mine." Sky admitted "I was so absent minded that I didn't notice Neon was sad."

"Then why are you here in Octo Valley?"

"They told me to find a teammate and meet them back in Inkopolis if I want Kal to back off so."

"I'll go then!" Victoria immediately jumped to the open position. "I need to see this for myself! Plus I've got some words for that girlfriend of yours! I can understand a little lovers quarrel! But dragging Kal into it is too much!"

Sky wondered if he could possibly turn her down.

"Lynn!? Lynn! Where are you!" Victoria started shouting names until the pony tailed Octoling from before ran up to her.

"Lynn I'm about to owe you a favor, I have some paperwork I need to get done on my squad's recent skirmish, but something else came up. So please fill everything out for me. If you need any details just ask my squad."

' _Oh that's right, Victoria is an Octarian soldier.'_ Sky was so busy thinking about the whole affair with Neon and Kal that he almost forgot.

He wasn't sure how Victoria stacked up against Neon and Kal in a turf war match, but Victoria had fought real battles against the Octarian army down here.

It was better than nothing, yet…

"Stop saying all that stuff about Neon! She's not to blame here!"

"I'll be the judge of that! Come on! Full ahead to Inkopolis!"

Victoria was determined to get to the bottom of this.

Sky was determined not to lose Neon.

As for the duo back on the surface, they were not expecting Sky to bring Victoria as his teammate.

But they were just as determined, not to just win, but they had their side objectives.

Neon was determined to make Sky understand what problems they had.

And Kal? Well, Kal was determined to see things through, after all he could relate to Neon.

Both of them had been suppressing themselves for so long, burying every complaint under a smile and a cheerful supportive voice.

Finally today, on the holiday of love and affection, all these troubles which corroded them for months finally ruptured through those fake smiles.


	2. True Smiles

**True Smiles**

* * *

**Deca Tower, Inkopolis Square**

Just as planned, Neon and Kal waited for Sky at the Deca tower.

It was almost five, Sky would be arriving any moment now.

"Hey, whoever Sky brings, leave them to me okay?" Neon suggested.

"Can't bring yourself to face Sky? Then why don't we just give it up already?" Kal asked

Neon shook her head "Not yet…"

Part of her wanted to win against Sky and see just how far he would go for her.

Another part wanted to stop pushing him any further and just reconcile.

Sure Sky was blind to Neon's feelings, but that didn't put him at fault.

Neon had realized that and was beginning to feel just a little guilty.

"Well alright, I can handle Sky." Kal agreed

For this private match, Neon would be using a custom E-Liter as always.

Kal had a few choices, but in the end he chose the Slosher he had been using for quite some time now.

One long ranged Charger and one close ranged Slosher should make a decent pair.

* * *

At 4:55, Sky arrived at the Deca Tower.

Following behind him, was an Octoling.

At first glance one might mistake her for one of the Octavio supporting Octolings, as she had red hair and wore a full set of Octoling armor, but the armor and goggles were a different model no longer used by the Octarian army.

When Kal realized who this was, he stood shocked and stared with disbelief.

Didn't Victoria say she was too busy to come to Inkopolis? What was she doing here?

She looked angry, very angry.

Neon, not caring who Sky had brought, simply said. "Five minutes early, as expected of mr perfect."

But as she said that, Victoria charged into her, lifting her up by the collar and pinning her against the wall.

"I thought we were friends! When did you turn into a two timing hussy!?"

That attracted quite a bit of attention, as they were still in the square.

Kal and Sky rushed to pull the two apart, but soon found themselves glaring at each other.

"To think that you would parade yourself in front of Kal while I'm gone!" Victoria continued "You too Kal! How can you let Neon use you so easily?!"

"Hey don't just blame her! It wasn't completely her idea." Kal replied

"Are you saying you aren't innocent in all this?! That makes it worse!"

"Can you blame me?! You always say you're busy with this and that and never have time for me! I don't even know if I matter to you anymore!" Kal retorted

"You… I'm a soldier of New Octopolis! I have my duties! Did you really think I was just making excuses not to come see you?!"

It wasn't Kal who spoke next, but Sky.

"Calm down Victoria, please don't start a fight in the middle of the street." he said in a calm manner

Victoria realized their situation and did just that, but then it was Neon's turn to complain.

"Why are you so nice to her!? Whenever I make a fuss you never say 'please don't' you just shout!" Neon complained

Now it was Kal's turn to hold her back.

"Hey save it for the battle! You'll have plenty of time to vent there."

"Oh right! The battle! I almost forgot!"

"Well we are all here, so we might as well begin."

"Yes, we will keep it simple, one regular game of Turf War on a random map. Sound good?" Neon asked

There were no complaints.

Even so there was a lot of glaring.

Nobody spoke to each other as the four made their way into the Deca Tower's private lobbies.

As their two teams were separated, they finally broke the silence.

"I didn't expect that…" Kal said.

Neon tilted her head "Hmm?"

"I thought for sure Sky would bring Inker, I didn't expect him to team up with Victoria…"

"That won't distract you, will it?"

"I'm not sure… But i'm going to have to go back on our plan. I'm leaving Sky to you."

"What? But… Nevermind I think I can guess."

"Thank you."

Neon and Kal were in the same boat.

They both had things they wanted to get off their minds.

The plan was to leave the weaker Sky to Kal, while Neon would take on whoever Sky brought.

But now that had changed.

Kal had much to explain and much to complain.

So did Neon.

As for Sky and Victoria.

"When we begin, leave Kal to me." Victoria said.

"What? But there's no way I can beat Neon!"

"Well figure something out! I didn't come all the way to Inkopolis just to lose!"

"Why are you leaving Neon to me?"

"It only makes sense right? Besides after hearing what Kal said, there's no way I can let him off so easily."

"But Neon.. Neon's never dropped out of the top500s ever since rank X was introduced… I don't hold a candle to her."

"Then just don't fight her directly. Turf war may be a game, but it is still based off an actual war. As an Octarian soldier I can tell you that there are much more ways to fight a war than just with weapons and ink."

Sky nodded

"Besides, this isn't just about winning is it?" Victoria asked

"Well… I'm not sure…" Sky didn't want to lose, but what exactly he didn't want to lose was not yet certain to him.

Was it the battle? Pride? Or Neon?

Maybe some of each.

* * *

**Wahoo World, Inkopolis**

As they had selected a random stage, neither side knew where they were going until they reached their spawn points.

It was Wahoo World, a amusement park-like map with plenty of walls and moving platforms.

While most battles begun with happy expressions on the faces of both teams, there were none of those here.

Victoria and Sky were recoloured Neon Pink, they had determined looks on their faces.

They weren't just here to win the battle after all.

Sky brought a basic Splat Roller as his weapon, while Victoria had taken a liking to using Blasters.

On the other side, Kal and Neon were recoloured Neon Green and looked equally determined.

Looking around the map, Neon was already trying to find places for placing squid beakons, while Kal wondered how his Slosher would fare against Victoria here.

Both sides waited eagerly for the start, and when it came, both sides surged forward.

Rapidly shooting her way to some decent cover, Neon placed two Squid Beakons down while she considered her next move.

Kal Sloshed his way towards the center.

On the other side, Sky came rolling towards the spinning platform in the middle, while Victoria attempted to approach from the sides.

The two boys met in the middle, they glared at each other.

They were not the ones they were looking for, but this was still a battle.

"Rahhh!" Sky charged forward with his Roller

In response Kal lept off the platform and using the firing arc of the Slosher, he sent ink flying up onto the platform.

Sky, seeing a torrent of ink flung upwards, quickly threw himself back.

He retreated back to his side of the map and hid in some ink, while Kal covered the center platform.

When Kal came down, he was weary of the pink ink, as Sky was predictable, Kal knew he was hiding somewhere.

But then came a barrage of Blaster shots.

Kal stumbled and jumped, seeing Victoria firing from higher ground.

Victoria's Blaster was perfectly suited for this map, which featured walls everywhere.

Kal struggled to dodge Victoria's Blaster shots, while Victoria spammed the trigger through gritted teeth.

At this moment, Sky popped up, intending to surprise Kal, only for a quick and precise shot from Neon to splat him instantly.

Neon, watching Kal from afar, smiled and mouthed to him 'Go for it!'.

She was going to leave Victoria to him, while she covered more turf.

Kal nodded, first he had to get out of Victoria's sight.

Victoria, moving carefully, did not hop down to the lower parts of the map, she moved to the center platform and retook it for her team.

Once again, Kal flung ink onto the platform from the lower ground onto the platform.

Seeing this same trick again, Victoria rolled her eyes and circled around to flank Kal.

"There you are!"

Kal quickly climbed back onto the platform, and Victoria followed.

Expecting this, Kal waited by the edge of the platform, intending to dump a load of Ink of Victoria as she climbed up.

But Victoria, being a trained soldier, was too quick for Kal.

Immediately noticing how close they were, Victoria opted to go for a more direct form of combat.

Knocking Kal's Slosher out of his hand, Victoria locked one of her legs around Kal's and punched his upper body, sending him tumbling to the ground.

"Urf" Kal cried out in pain "That's cheating!"

"Oh? But it's okay for you to cheat with Neon while I'm not around?" Victoria shot back.

Kal felt anger swelling once again.

Why was he being treated like the bad guy?

To him, he didn't do anything wrong.

The only reason Victoria jumped to such a conclusion, was because they had been separated for so long, only keeping in touch by phone.

Kal threw himself back up, tackling Victoria off the platform.

"Don't act like I'm wrong here!"

They fell, Kal landed on top of Victoria, but she quickly turned that around, flipping Kal over and pinning him to the ground.

"And how are you not? You two faced sleazeball! You sounded sooo supportive over the phone but then you put the moves on Neon?! How do you think I feel when I heard that?!"

"How you feel?! Is that all you care about!? What about me!?" Kal struggled to move his arms and legs, but could not, luckily he could still change form.

He switched to squid form and lept up into Victoria, giving her a powerful headbutt.

"Everytime I call, every time I try to invite you over, you're always busy!" Kal continued, as he and Victoria locked arms attempting to wrestle each other to the ground.

This was no normal match of Turf Wars, they weren't just trying to cover the most ground.

"And it's always me! I'm always cheering you on, leaving you to whatever you do in Octo Valley! While you never call back! Do you know how that feels!?" Kal shouted

"Oh please! I have way too much on my hands to worry about that stuff!" Victoria replied

"And how do you think I feel because of that?!" Kal shot back "Neglected! Ignored! I love you yet you don't seem to care at all! Do I even matter to you anymore!"

Victoria gasped, as if she had not realized it.

In doing so, her hold weakened. Kal felt it, if he was going to make a move, now as the time, he copied the move Victoria used earlier, he locked one of his legs behind Victoria's and shoved hard, sending her to the ground.

Caught off guard both by Kal's words and his counterattack, Victoria lay in a daze for a moment, before collecting herself and getting back up.

That was all the time Kal needed to retrieve his Slosher and splat her.

Victoria quickly respawned, unhurt physically, yet she didn't want to fight anymore.

She never realized how much she neglected Kal.

* * *

As that was happening, Sky snuck over to Neon.

When she splatted him the first time, she revealed her position.

Normally Neon would never stay in one place, but she didn't relocate yet.

Sky took this opportunity to get the drop on her.

Or so he thought.

Neon could spot him coming a mile away.

"Gotcha! I'm not going to lose here!" Sky shouted, raising his Rolled high preparing to hammer Neon with it.

"Hmph." Neon snorted

She held her E-Liter sideways and thrust it into the handle of Sky's Roller, effectively parrying it.

"Is all that matters here? Winning?" Neon asked, trying to remain calm.

Sky pulled his Roller back, this time he rolled it on the ground and charged towards Neon.

Neon, being much more athletic and physically fit, simply leapt up and backflipped over Sky.

"You seem determined, why don't you just give up? It's easier on you isn't it?" Neon asked

"You…" Sky muttered before raising his voice as high as he could "You know very well I won't give up!"

He swung his Roller at Neon again, who expertly dodged both the roller and the ink that flung out of it.

"And why?"

"Don't make me state the obvious."

"Go on, I want to hear it."

"Fine then." Sky took a deep breath. "It's because I love you dammit!"

The corner of Neon's mouth lifted just a tiny bit.

"You say that… yet…"

As Sky went for another swing, Neon parried it again with the long E-Liter.

"It doesn't feel that way at all!" Neon said

"Oh no?" Sky asked

"Of course not! You're always telling me not to do this, or don't do that!"

With little care for the integrity of her E-Liter, Neon swung it against Sky repeatedly.

Even though he wouldn't be splatted by it, being whacked by an E-Liter really hurts, so Sky panicked and did whatever he could with his Roller to stop it.

"If you have such a problem with it! Then tell me!" Sky retaliated

"What? You really need me to say something so obvious!?" Neon snapped.

"Of course!" Sky said, continuing to block Neon's wild swings.

He felt that he was somewhat to blame for where they were now but...

"Just how am I supposed to know you're feeling down when you're always skipping around with a smile!" Sky continued

In response, Neon went "Huh?"

"I'm not psychic! I can't just read your mind like a book and know what's bothering you! Did you think that by holding it all in everything would be better?"

This wasn't meant to hurt Neon, it was just Sky trying to give a straight faced rebuttal.

"Was it really not obvious?" Neon asked

"Of course not! How in the world could I tell you're sulking when you're always so perky?!"

"..." Neon had come to realize that Sky had a point.

And in that moment, Sky swung his roller again.

Neon was too busy thinking to block it this time.

She was splatted.

A top Rank X player was just splatted by a rank C+.

To Neon the blow to her pride was painful, but not as painful as the realization that she might be completely in the wrong.

This battle was supposed to be a chance for her to release all the frustration that had been building up over the past year and make Sky realize his faults.

Yet Neon was also at fault for how things ended up here.

She respawned and sat on her spawn point, setting her E-Liter to the side, she had zero intent on keeping up the fight.

For half a minute, Sky and Kal ran about trying to cover turf on their own.

Then Kal noticed Neon was missing.

Hurrying back to his spawn, Kal found Neon sitting on the ground with her head buried in her arms.

"Neon! What happened? I can't do this alone you know."

"Forget it." Neon said

"What?"

"Just forget it."

"What happened."

"This isn't right… It's not Sky's fault, it's mine."

"What? How does that work?"

"I should have told him, if I had just told him he would have understood. Why did I tell him?"

"Tell him what? That you were crying?"

Neon nodded

"It's not his fault…"

"Well maybe, but it wasn't your fault that you felt alienated in the first place."

"Hmm?"

"Even if you had told Sky, he still doesn't realize how left out you became once he started speaking Octarian. Isn't that why you were crying in the first place?"

Neon sat up.

Kal was right, this wasn't completely her fault.

Even if she hadn't said anything, Sky should have noticed how Neon went quiet and said nothing whenever he was chatting it up with Octarians.

You didn't have to be a mind reader to tell when someone is left out.

Silently, Neon stood back up and grabbed her E-Liter.

"Oh you're back in it?" Kal asked

"Yep! I'm not done yet!"

As for Victoria, she searched for Sky on her own.

Sky was running around inking turf while Victoria was just wandering the map.

Without firing her blaster, or caring that she was stepping in enemy ink, Victoria trudged over to Sky's side.

"Victoria? What's wrong?" Sky asked.

Victoria answered Sky's question with her own. "Did Kal ever seem sad to you?"

"Uhhh, no, why?"

"He was, you know."

"Really? I couldn't tell."

Victoria sighed.

Sky, noticing something was wrong, halted his progress on the map to see just what was bothering her.

"What did Kal say?" Sky asked

"He said he feels neglected, ignored. I mean I know I was busy, but I should have at least called him now and then."

"You didn't?"

Victoria shook her head.

"No, it was always him calling me." She let out a wry laugh "heh, and here I was blaming Neon and Kal… yet it all happened because of me. Some girlfriend I am, I don't even have time to speak with Kal..."

There was a quick beeping noise, Sky glanced around rapidly and saw Kal locking in with a Tenta Missile launcher.

He hurried to his feet and grabbed Victoria's hand, trying to pull her up.

"Come on! Come on! Don't just sit there!" He shouted

"Forget it, let them win.. They deserve it." Victoria muttered.

She and Sky were pulverized by Kal's Tenta missiles, leaving Kal and Neon free to retake the map.

Sky respawned quickly and so did Victoria, but only Sky left the spawn.

He looked back, realizing Victoria really was planning on throwing the match.

"Hey come on! I can't do this on my own."

"Forget it, I can't bring myself to face Kal anymore."

"Why? Just because you were a little busy in Octo Valley? It's not your fault that you're a soldier."

"Maybe, but I still should have paid more attention to Kal."

Victoria wasn't getting back in the fight anytime soon.

Meanwhile Neon and Kal were making progress again.

Sky had to get Victoria back in the game quickly.

But how?

He wasn't an Octarian or a soldier, what did he know about Victoria's everyday life?

' _Wait that's it!'_ Sky thought

"Victoria, does Kal know what it's like, being an Octarian soldier and all?"

"I don't think so."

"Well then why is he complaining about being neglected? He doesn't know what you need to do!"

Sky had a point and it was enough to bring Victoria back up.

"Right, he doesn't."

Victoria still felt some shame in neglecting Kal for so long.

But that was out of her control! It wasn't her fault she and her fellow soldiers were getting into skirmishes with the Octarian army!

She and Sky hopped back out of their spawn.

Using the blast radius of her Blaster to deal splash damage off the walls, Victoria took out an unsuspecting Kal, Neon on the other hand was much tougher to splat.

She fired mercilessly upon Victoria and Sky, buying Kal more than enough time to return.

Kal and Neon had to stick to the raised sections of the map now that Victoria was back in and using her Blaster to full effect.

Sky and Victoria remained on the lower areas, avoiding Neon's sight as they would be sniped if she saw them.

There was still a fight to come.

But first, Victoria wanted to confront Kal again, in order to do so, Kal and Neon had to be significantly far away from each other.

Finally that time came.

Kal had moved to the lowered areas of the map to cover more turf.

"Leave him to me!" Victoria told Sky as she hurried to confront Kal.

Sky, left alone, listened for the sound of E-Liter fire.

_'Guess I'll try my luck against her.'_

Sky made his way over to Neon, but as soon as Neon caught a glimpse of him…

BLAM, Sky was splatted.

With an emotionless expression on her face Neon fired round after round at her boyfriend.

Sky found himself being spawn camped by Neon, and in Wahoo World of all maps.

Everytime he tried to leave his spawn, no matter which way he went or how close he was, Neon's targeting laser snapped onto him and blasted him.

It was starting to get on his nerves, especially when he noticed Victoria get splatted, respawn and Neon let her go.

"You troublesome girl!" Sky shouted towards Neon "Just what's your problem!? Do you want to win that badly!? If you have a problem just say it!"

In response Neon hopped over to Sky's spawn.

They were still in a battle, so Sky naturally attacked with his roller, but as usual Neon avoided it with ease.

"You… You said you couldn't tell how I was feeling if I didn't say anything…" Neon muttered

That didn't mean it was her fault.

After all, Kal could tell right away that Neon was being left out.

In fact, anyone passing by would have noticed.

"How could you not know?! Did you never realize how I'd go silent everytime you start chatting in Octarian?! Did you never realize how I'd take a step back?!"

"Wait, really?"

"You never noticed, did you? It was so blatantly obvious yet you didn't know!"

"Now that I think about it…" Sky realized Neon was telling the truth.

He did stop hearing her voice whenever he met any Octarian acquaintances of his. Since Neon is always loud and full of energy it was easily noticeable. Yet Sky didn't think too much about it since he was too distracted.

"We've been together for a year and have known each other for even longer. How did it slip past you!" Neon continued.

"Oh come on! Was it really that obvious!" Sky shouted, as he swung his roller at Neon again.

"Yeah! It was so obvious that Kal noticed right away!" Neon said, once again blocking Sky's roller with expert precision.

"N-no way… B-but if it was that bad, why didn't you say anything?" Sky went back to his original point.

"Because you looked happy." Neon replied, now in a much calmer tone. "You looked so happy being appreciated by those Octarians. I love you Sky, I want you to be happy, that's why I never said anything, I didn't want to get in the way."

"..."

Neon was right, Sky was happy.

He was so happy to see that learning the Octarian language could help so many Octarians adjust to a new life in Inkopolis, a life where they weren't constantly being taught to hate Inklings and sent to war, a life that they could enjoy for themselves.

Maybe Sky was too happy to realize what the one closest to him had been going through.

"What can I say except; I'm sorry." Sky let his Roller fall to the ground as Neon's E-Liter charged up.

Neon enjoyed Turf wars just like how Sky enjoyed his work.

Perhaps this match was Neon's to win from the beginning.

Once Sky was splatted one more time, Neon left to cover turf and check on Kal.

* * *

While Neon fought Sky with both words and ink, Kal was taking turf on the lower areas of the map, as he and Neon had already inked pretty much all of the higher areas.

But of course, now that Kal was down there inking the lower areas and Neon was spawn camping Sky, Victoria was left free to take the higher ground.

At first, Kal didn't realize it, but he soon noticed that Victoria was standing above him.

"Back so soon?"

"Of course, don't think I'll let you off so easily." Victoria took aim with her Octarian Blaster, making Kal scramble to get away from any walls and onto higher ground.

"Still mad that Neon took me out while you were doing whatever it is you do?" Kal taunted, hoping that could at least throw off Victoria's aim a bit.

"Oh I'll admit i'm quite upset, but not for that reason." Victoria shot at Kal, though she didn't aim to splat him.

The projectile exploded with Kal just barely out of its radius.

"Gahh!" Kal hurried to the side as Victoria fired again.

Kal was right, she was pretty angry.

Therefore she wanted to see Kal scrambling to avoid this barrage of ink blasts.

"St-stop it! What's wrong with you!" Kal sputtered

"Me?"

"Yeah you!"

Victoria fired another shot which passed by right in front of Kal's eyes, making him freeze.

"You've been talking a lot about me! What about you! You're acting like a selfish, insensitive squid!"

"What! me?!"

"Yeah you!"

Victoria stepped back as Kal flung ink at her position.

In response, she tossed him a Splat Bomb, forcing Kal to quickly leap away.

"Do you really think you have the moral high ground just because you feel lonely?! Haven't you realized that maybe I feel the same?!" Victoria continued.

"How would I know!? I barely even see you now!" Kal retorted as he climbed to meet Victoria face to face.

"Exactly! You don't know everything! How dare you act as if I wanted to stay away!"

Victoria withdrew her Blaster and prepared to dodge and roll in case Kal attacked. She was a soldier after all, she didn't need to use Dualies to be able to dodge.

"Kal, let me remind you that I'm a soldier of New Octopolis, I have a duty to protect the free Octarians in Octo Valley from Octavio's army."

"I know that, you don't have to remind me!"

"Then do you know that the Octarian army has been probing Octo Valley for months now!?"

Kal stopped just as he was about to fling more ink at Victoria.

"Huh?"

"The New Squidbeak splatoon isn't the only one fighting the Octarian army, they see us as traitors, we see them as oppressors. Octo Canyon and Octo Valley are constantly at odds nowadays. Did you really think I was purposely avoiding you? How could I ever do such a thing? I love you Kal, I wanted to see you too, I really do, I missed our time in Inkopolis, but sadly duty had to come first."

Victoria always did feel attached to Octo Valley, Kal should have known.

No, Kal did know, he knew that Victoria didn't want to leave her hometown behind, he knew that Victoria wouldn't say she was busy unless she really was.

But the moment he saw Neon in what he thought was a similar situation he seemed to forget all that.

Now, Victoria was finally here in person.

She still wore Octoling armor, goggles and boots, but that was normal for her.

Behind those goggles were a beautiful pair of green eyes, ones that could be filling with killing intent once Victoria was in battle, but would change to a more gentle and lovable gaze when Kal was around.

This was the girl Kal fell in love with, at that moment Kal wondered why he even agreed to this battle in the first place.

After all, he just really wanted to see Victoria again.

"I'm sorry… I guess I just missed you a little too much." Kal said.

He slowly closed the distance between them, leaving his slosher behind.

Victoria was right, it wasn't her fault that she was too busy to see Kal.

But it didn't matter, Kal was glad she was here.

A happy reunion and embrace was in order.

"Huh?"

As Kal hugged Victoria he felt something pressed against his side.

He then noticed that Victoria had taken her Blaster with one hand and had it poking into him.

Victoria smiled playfully.

"A little payback for splatting me earlier."

SPLAT

The match hadn't ended yet.

* * *

Kal respawned.

' _Did Victoria forgive me?_ ' He wondered as Victoria hadn't exactly said so yet.

Was he actually in the wrong here? Victoria had no control over when she had free time.

' _Why are we having this battle? what did Neon hope to accomplish again?'_ Kal wondered _'Oh wait, I'm the one who challenged Sky.'_

The challenge was that if Sky could beat him and Neon in a 2v2 Kal would back off.

Back off from what exactly? Kal never saw Neon as anything more than a friend.

Plus Neon just wanted to see how far Sky would go for her right?

' _If that's the case, maybe I should just let them win.'_ Kal decided.

However Neon came hurrying back.

"Hey why are you just standing there? We still have a minute left!"

Kal waved his hand, "Nah, It's not like Victoria or Sky were in the wrong, we may as well let them win."

"Wait, wasn't it you who said that Sky was wrong for not noticing how I felt?"

"Yeah but, maybe that is because I thought the same about me and Victoria. You don't actually have anything against Sky do you?"

Neon pondered.

Sky did not realize she was being left out, but that was all right?

Now that he knew how she felt everything was fine again right?

"No…. There's more." Neon said.

"Well then it's all on you now. I got nothing against Victoria…"

' _Why doesn't that sound right? Am I missing something here? Or am I overlooking something?' Kal wondered_

Something didn't sit right, just like with Neon, perhaps there was something else still lingering on the tip of his mind.

"Maybe we are looking at it incorrectly…" Neon guessed "I mean we both felt kinda neglected so we both focused on that, but there is more to it isn't there?"

Kal and Neon sympathized with each other because both felt ignored.

But just that alone wasn't enough to make them drop their fake smiles.

"Well Victoria is here now so I can't exactly complain, I honestly didn't expect to see her today since she said she wouldn't be able to…!"

That was it.

"Wait a second! Why is Victoria here if she said she couldn't visit Inkopolis today!"

Kal knew something didn't sit right.

"We haven't lost yet!" Kal declared as he headed back out into battle.

As for Neon she hadn't realized what else she had against Sky at the moment.

Oh well, maybe just enjoying this like a proper turf war would jog her memory.

With a bubble blower and some well tossed bombs, Kal and Neon took control of the majority of the map yet again.

Since she was using an Octarian made weapon, Victoria had no special, only her Blaster and some Splat Bombs.

Even without a special she could handle Kal now that he was knocked off his high horse.

With Neon taking aim from afar and Kal closing the distance, Victoria readied herself.

"Wait, just a minute." Kal said.

He waved at Neon to stop, so she did and moved on to hunt down Sky.

"What is it?" Victoria asked

"Why are you here?" Kal asked

"To get even with Neon."

"No, I mean… How are you even here in the first place?"

"I had Lynn do me a favor and finish my paperwork."

"Wha…"

It was that simple?

Kal expected much more than just that.

If Victoria could make time so easily, why did she not do so earlier?

"Then why didn't you do that earlier!?"

"I was busy!"

"But when Sky tells you I slept on Neon's lap you drop everything and rush over?"

"What's your point?"

"My point is…"

Kal leapt forward with his Slosher

"If you can leave so easily you could have made time for me!"

She could not take on both Kal and Neon at once.

Before long they were bearing down on their spawn.

"Sky, don't just sit there! I thought you wanted to win!" Victoria called out to her teammate.

"..."

Sky hesitantly tried to make up some lost ground.

Except he couldn't get far without being splatted.

"I'm not very good at this…" Sky muttered

"Come on! Pick it up! You got a close ranged weapon so close the distance!" Victoria ordered

In response Sky ran outwards and made a beeline for Neon, only to be splatted easily.

Victoria glared at him.

"But you said close the distance…." Sky muttered

He was never very good at battling.

Considering he was currently nothing but target practice for Neon and Kal, that was proof of it.

This was out of his control, just like how he was too late to notice Neon feeling left out, there was nothing he could do here.

At this point he was just waiting for the match to end so he could properly apologize.

"Sky!" Neon called out from her side of the map. "You are weak! How about you just give up this match and team up with me to train together?!"

Unlike Sky, Neon put all her time into Turf Wars, she was talented, skilled, quick on her feet.

And yet…

"What's this about training? It's always Turf Wars with you!"

Sky had his own complaints.

"What do you expect? It's Inkopolis!"

"Don't just use Inkopolis as an excuse!"

There it was again.

"Don't do this…. Don't do that. You're always telling me what not to do!"

"Of course! You're an odd ball and the only way to change that is by holding you back?"

"Change? You want me to change?"

"Wait… bad wording."

"Alright then how's this? Once you lose this match things will change for both of us!"

"If that's the case, then I can't lose now!"

Forgetting all his mistakes, Sky picked his Roller back up.

He was never good at battles, but that wasn't going to stop him from trying…

Where did all this sudden motivation come from? Well it was simple.

Sky didn't want to lose Neon.

As soon as Sky had an opening, he used his splashdown on Neon's position.

Neon being quick on her feet was able to get away from Sky, but in doing so left herself open to Victoria.

Victoria landed some hits with her Blaster but before she could finish her off Kal attacked.

Both sides had said their pieces, all four felt guilty of something.

Yet they were each giving it their all.

Kal hopped between the lower and higher areas of the map, taking advantage of the Slosher's firing arc.

Neon easily secured the higher, more exposed areas with her custom E-Liter.

Victoria made use of walls and narrow paths to catch Kal in her Blaster's blast radius.

And Sky, well he didn't have much strategy, but he didn't want to lose.

While the two sides exchanged inkfire, an equal amount of words were traded as well.

"If you say nothing how can I know you're feeling down?" Sky said

"It's not just that! If you want me to change then you should just find someone else!" Neon shot back.

As she rapidly glanced around picking off Sky whenever he revealed himself, Kal and Victoria fought their own battle on their part fo the map.

"It's not my fault I have so little free time!" Victoria argued

"If you're here then that just shows you can make free time!" Kal retorted

They were fully invested in the match now.

Kal's earlier thoughts of losing on purpose faded as he was drawn into the heat of battle.

So did Sky.

And Victoria.

And Neon.

Yet it was Kal and Neon's team who were winning.

"You keep ignoring me as if I could just wait forever!"

"You never compliment me! All you do is tell me not to act like myself!"

Sky and Victoria, had less to say.

Aside from one similar point.

"How was I supposed to know!?" They shouted in sync.

'STOP BATTLING!'

* * *

"Huh? It's over already?" Kal asked

They were so absorbed into their quarrel that they lost track of time.

"Did I… Did we do it?" Sky looked at Victoria.

Victoria didn't say anything, she was focused on the results.

But once the map was shown all hope was lost.

63 to 37 of the map covered.

Neon and Kal ended up winning.

"Hooray! We did it!" Neon cheered

"We did!"

"Up high!"

Neon and Kal high fived, cheered and chest bumped in celebration, in front of the now distraught Sky and Victoria.

They had lost, which means…

Victoria looked somewhat annoyed seeing Kal and Neon celebrate their win, yet she remained quiet.

Sky watched, noticing how happy Neon looked.

Did she always look this happy when she won a battle? Or was this the first time?

Silently he approached Neon.

Now that the battle was over and he had lost, he could really focus on the points Neon had brought up.

He had been leaving her out, excluding her far too often.

Plus he always seemed to be against everything she did.

Yet Neon always smiled, Sky thought that meant everything was fine.

Kal and Neon stopped celebrating as they noticed Sky getting closer.

He stopped only a few steps away from Neon.

Without raising his head, Sky said.

"I'm sorry…"

What else was there to say at this point?

"I really had no idea, even if you went silent and took a step back, even if I called you a troublesome girl and complained about everything you do, you would always skip around with that smile on your face. I thought that meant everything was fine… Guess I was wrong."

He looked up to the face of Neon.

"But the truth is, I love you like you are, I was just speaking out of habit. I don't care if you are a troublesome girl, I don't care if you make a fuss everywhere you go and I would never go out of my way to exclude you."

Neon looked happy, relieved, as if a lot of weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

"If you really are happier with Kal instead of me. Then I gues-"

"Shh" Neon placed a finger on Sky's mouth.

She never wanted to give that impression.

She just wanted to see if Sky still loved her.

Seeing him go this far, was proof enough for her.

Besides, she wasn't completely free of fault either.

It was probably a good time to explain everything now.

"Kal and I understand what it's like wearing a fake smile, we have that in common. But we are just friends, friends who help each other out."

"Then you and I…" Sky began

"...Are still together." Neon finished his sentence.

Beside her, Kal silently nodded

"After all, this was just a test." Neon continued

"A test?" Sky wondered

"Yeah" Kal said "Neon wanted to see just how far you'd go for her even if the odds weren't in your favor."

"What?!" That came from Victoria "Are you telling me, I came all the way out here because of some stupid prank?!"

"Hey come on now, let's not ruin the moment." Kal said. "Let's leave these two alone."

"Where are we going? I should be getting back to Octo Valley, you know?"

"Ahh come on, you're already here and it's Valentine's day. Let's spend the rest of the day together."

"...Fine."

He took Victoria and led her out of Wahoo world, promising to explain everything to her himself.

It was just Neon and Sky left.

"Sheesh what a mess, all this because of some pent up feelings. You can't blame me for calling you troublesome girl now." Sky joked

"Well at this point I don't mind, you call me that so often, I've gotten used to it." Neon laughed.

"Hey, from now on, if something is wrong, just come out and say it okay? I won't hate you for it or anything."

"Yup! Got it!"

"And uhhh, sorry I ruined that surprise meal you had planned for us."

"Oh don't worry! We can still go for dinner!"

"Really? Well it is almost time for that… it will be my treat then."

"Hah! No way! I'm taking you to the Harbour Ten Steakhouse just like I planned. With how much money you make there's no way I'm letting you pay the bill!"

"At least let me pay a part of it."

"Meh, if you say so. Come on! Let's go!"

"Ow! Don't pull so hard! I can run on my own!"

Things were back to normal, maybe even better now.

* * *

As Neon went back to the usual routine of dragging along Sky while running at full speed, Victoria and Kal toured Inkopolis on their own.

"Don't tell me everything you said was just playacting…" Victoria muttered

"No… actually that was all true." Kal admitted

"But then, why didn't you say something earlier?"

"I don't know… I guess I thought it would be better to not say anything and I just couldn't take it anymore."

"Well… I guess I can forgive you this once."

"Hey! It's not my fault that-"

"I know, I'll apologize too…You were right, I could have made time for you if I tried. I guess I figured you'd always be there for me."

"You know I will, I'll still love you Victoria even when we are cities apart."

Victoria smiled

"Great, I promise from now on, I will find more time for us, in return can you promise me one thing?"

"What is it?"

"Don't ever think that you don't matter to me, ever again."

"Deal."

During this time of the year, the sun sets early.

Kal and Victoria found themselves sitting on that peaceful hill that Neon loved to visit everytime she needed some peace and quiet.

Well actually only Victoria was sitting, Kal was lying in her lap.

"What is the meaning of this?" Victoria demanded

"You said you wanted to get even with Neon right? Well this is just that."

"Didn't you two also go to a fancy high class restaurant?"

"I'll save up some money and take you there some other time. Besides, you can't go wearing Octoling Armor can you?"

"I don't really have anything else, aside from that Satin Jacket you gave me… Oh well, I did want to go shopping in Inkopolis sometime."

"Just avoid the stores that judge you based on Turf War levels and you'll be fine."

"You're not coming with me?"

"And become a pack mule? No thank you."

"A pack mule? I'm not some high maintenance woman who needs to buy tons of dresses and makeup. I'll just pick something for the occasion."

"I can't wait to see it."

Things turned out great after all.

In the morning, Kal thought that he wouldn't even see Victoria's face today.

Yet now here he was, lying in her lap.

"Hmmm, this feels much more comfortable than Neon's lap."

"Huh? Are you saying i'm fatter than her?"

Kal smiled "No, I'm saying you're perfect."

* * *

In the end, everything worked out.

Neon took Sky for a fancy dinner and Kal got to see Victoria again.

Plus they managed to get everything off their chests.

They were both happy.

No more fake smiles for them.

Sky and Victoria knew where things went wrong.

From their respective places in Inkopolis, each of them reflected.

' _I didn't notice you were feeling down.' Sky admitted_

' _I didn't notice you felt so ignored.' Victoria conceded_

' _I thought that if you were smiling, then everything was fine.' Both of them thought at once._

' _Neon'_

' _Kal'_

' _Please.'_

' _Show us your true smiles from now on.'_


End file.
